But is this biblical? Not all of it. Let me explain.

The person who - in the presence of others - checks someone for having sinned (or speaks in an impassioned manner about a certain person), is not moved by the Spirit of God; he is moved by another spirit.

We indeed are to check someone publicly. I think the first question to ask from this is, what is to happen if we do not take it upon ourselves to rebuke and correct a brother or sister?

It’s important to remember pastors and elders are not omnipresent and cannot see into every affair. Many only deal with public unrepentant sin (as was the case with Paul and the Corinthians). Because public and private sin is seen more on the individual level amongst acquaintances, friendships, and families (but surely not limited to only these), we each have an obligation to rebuke, encourage, and keep our Christian community accountable.

The consequence of not pointing out and rebuking sin is that heresy will creep into the church and begin to divide its members. People will naturally give into false teachings from the outside that gives credibility to sin and cause them to live openly in it. We can unfortunately see this effect in many of the churches that we attend today.

Proverbs 27:5-6 "Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy."

Luke 17:3 “So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.”

Matthew 18:15 "If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”

Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

James 4:17 “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

All over the Bible, we also see examples of figures openly rebuking sin whenever it is found. It is clear from Jesus’s ministry that He was quick to rebuke the Pharisees and Sadducees who had distorted the Scripture with their earthly traditions. The apostles were no different from what we can see in their gospels of encouraging but also rebuking many of the early churches in their letters to them. During Peter's visit to Antioch, Paul found it necessary to rebuke him (Galatians 2:11). This was not an easy task against someone who was called “The Rock” by Jesus and was one of the original twelve disciples. It would have been very easy for Paul to ignore Peter's misconduct. But Paul did not do this. Instead, he confronted Peter face to face. The early church fathers were also as zealous as the apostles themselves in rooting out and exposing any false doctrine that cropped up in the early church like Gnosticism.

Of course, this must be done in a spirit of gentleness.

For those who think they are doing right, but whose actions don't match up to the Scripture, they are to be corrected in a spirit of gentleness. In fact, there are 74 verses on correcting a brother (http://www.openbible.info/topics/correcting_a_brother).

Galatians 6:1-2 "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

James 5:19-20 "My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."

Luke 17:3-4 "Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

2 Timothy 4:2 "Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction."

For those that continue to persist in sin within the church, we are called to disassociate with them in the hope that the shame it creates will lead them back to redemption.

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 "If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."

1 Timothy 5:20 "As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear."

Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

The way of the Church is LOVE; it differs from the way of the legalists.

So how do we love God? It is written:

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

John 14:23-24 “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.’”

John 15:10 "If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love."

The way of the church is also speaking the truth in love.

Ephesians 4:15 "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ."

2 Timothy 2:24-26 "And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."

For love does not delight in evil.

1 Corinthians 13:6 "Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."

True love rejoices in what is right and good. Anything that covers up sin or seeks to justify wrongdoing is the polar opposite of Godly love. Love does not sweep sin under the rug. Love does not try to find ways to get away with bad behavior, and it does not put up with injustice. Instead, it treasures truth, celebrates good behavior, and promotes virtue. True love has nothing to hide.

The Church sees everything with tolerance and seeks to help each person, whatever he may have done, however sinful he may be.

But we should not let tolerance be an excuse to keep on sinning.